I'd like to continue to advocate for the contribution business and the private sector make, but also be adventurous in the way I apply my motto that "you don't know what you don't know" and keep my eyes open to opportunities.

How did the Young Executives simulation program affect your aspirations?

Leadership is about being agile

Authenticity is really important

There’s a human impact as well

YOUNG EXECUTIVES

I love working with teams

I felt like I had raced a couple of triathlons

Today it’s leadership by inspiration

It’s about trusting your team

How the original Young Executives flourished

The simulation program is just like a day at the office, but 100 times more intense. It's an interesting way to better understand how you solve problems because you're in a pressure-cooker environment with a lot of complex tasks to complete in a limited amount of time.

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The theme of the simulation program was artificial intelligence, an area in which I haven't had a huge deal of technical experience. But it really got me to consider how these are not abstract theories that businesses are dealing with. They have the opportunity to drive efficiency and innovation, but there's a very real human impact as well. The simulation process with AI has made me reflect on every business decision having a financial and human imperative.

What did you learn about your strengths and weaknesses?

One of the biggest things I learned was that at that level of responsibility (in a simulated environment), it's mostly about making a constant stream of decisions. You're making big decisions and little decisions, and you have to base them on the knowledge you have from information at hand, be it financial statements or meetings with staff, then make a call on that issue and back your judgment.

What interests you about leadership?

What interests me most is not how leadership is talked about in that abstract theory or in a classroom when everybody is being reasonable and the conditions are fair. The best leadership I've observed is when the conditions are not fair, when other people are not acting reasonably, when there's not one right answer, when there are different levels of a bad outcome to have to make decisions on.

What are the most important attributes of good leaders?

Empathy is number one – the ability to listen, to relate and to understand other people. Having empathy for those around you, or for people who will be impacted by decisions you make. The other attribute would be to balance being receptive to other views and ideas and staying your own course when you need to. One thing I've seen in good leaders is that when the going gets tough, they have the ability to dust themselves off and keep going.